Your Browser is Old, Slow, and Will Probably Give You a Virus

Today’s post is about a very emotional subject to me. There is something that a majority of people do, and probably don’t think anything of it, but makes my life really difficult and frustrates me to no end. It’s very possible that you do this and don’t even realize that there is a better alternative. You probably don’t even realize you need a better alternative. And I’m certain that if you do this, you don’t realize what a headache it can cause me. “What is this thing that people do?” you ask. Let me tell you.

They use a web browser that’s slow, doesn’t work right, and probably gave them a virus. And the name of this browser is none other than, Internet Explorer.

I could probably think of a hundred reasons why I think Internet Explorer should be banned from the face of the Earth, but I’m only going to explain a few big reasons in this post. Hopefully it will help you come to realize that you no longer have to suffer with this terrible piece of software.

Before we get to that, let me explain what a browser is for those who may not know. When you access the internet, you access it through a browser, which is a software program for viewing web documents.

Display Issues

You might think that all web browsers would display a web page the same way. That would be wonderful, but unfortunately they do not. Each browser has a few slight differences in how some pieces of code are displayed, except for Internet Explorer, which has MAJOR differences. While the latest version of Internet Explorer, IE9, has made some major improvements in this area, it’s not been enough. Plus, it can’t even be installed on Windows XP, which many people still use. So Microsoft’s own product can’t be installed on their own operating system. What’s that about?

And this difference in how pages are displayed is where my major frustration as a website developer comes in. After developing a web page using industry standards, it’s time to test the page to see what it looks like in a browser. It will almost always look the way you intended it to look in all major browsers, until you test it in IE.

For some reason, Microsoft thinks they can make up their own standards and everyone else will just have to deal with it. Since about half of the country still uses it, they’re right. We do have to deal with it. So we have to use workarounds and hacks to make the web page look right in Internet Explorer. But often those workarounds are just to make it look decent. It often still won’t look or function the way it does in other browsers.

Ok that was my selfish reason as to why I think you need to change your browser. There are much more important reasons that affect you immensely.

It’s Slow

Compared to other top web browsers, Internet Explorer is extremely slow. Many people I know have complained to me about how slow their computer has gotten. Since I know the only thing they do on their computer is surf the internet, I tell them to download another browser and amazingly, their computer is fast again. It’s like magic!

Security

The third reason for giving Internet Explorer the boot is security. You are much more likely to get a virus when surfing the web when you use Internet Explorer. Part of the reason for this, is that they don’t update it very often. Other browsers automatically update to new versions with security enhancements regularly. This keeps the virus, malware and spammers at bay.

You may be hesitant to switch to a new browser because all of your favorites are in Internet Explorer. Don’t worry. When you install a new browser, they will automatically import your favorites so you have no excuse.

Now you know why you need a new browser, let’s talk about some of the alternatives to Internet Explorer.

Google Chrome

My personal favorite, Google Chrome is probably the fastest browser on the market. According to some studies, it’s also the most popular worldwide.

Mozilla Firefox

Firefox is another great browser and used to be the main competitor to Internet Explorer until Chrome came along.

Opera

This is a lesser known browser, but people who use it regularly, love it. And for good reason. Opera is an innovator in the browser market and supports many of the latest web technologies.

Apple’s Safari

Safari is much like Google Chrome in the way it was built and how it operates. It’s a great browser that comes preinstalled on all Apple products, but you can also download it free on any Windows PC.

If you are still an Internet Explorer user, I highly suggest downloading and trying any of those 4 browsers. You will find that your online experience will be faster, more secure, and more beautiful than ever before!

2 thoughts on “Your Browser is Old, Slow, and Will Probably Give You a Virus”

  1. IE (any version) is the scourge of the internet. Well written story, Mike. You are spot on with your evaluation. Even worse than IE, is IE wrapped in AOL! Ugh!!

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